# Denmark Groover Jr.

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{{short description|American politician}}
{{use mdy dates |date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = 
| name             = Denmark Groover Jr.
| honorific_suffix = 
| image            = 
| alt              = 
| state_house1     = Georgia
| district1        = 99th
| term_start1      = 1983
| term_end1        = 1995
| state_house2     = Georgia
| district2        = 75th
| term_start2      = 1973
| term_end2        = 1975
| state_house3     = Georgia
| district3        = 27th
| term_start3      = 1971
| term_end3        = 1973
| state_house4     = Georgia
| district4        = Bibb County
| term_start4      = 1963
| term_end4        = 1965
| state_house5     = Georgia
| district5        = Bibb County
| term_start5      = 1953
| term_end5        = 1957
| predecessor      = 
| successor        = 
| prior_term       = 
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = {{birth date |1922|6|30}}
| birth_place      = [Quitman, Georgia](/source/Quitman%2C_Georgia), United States
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2001|4|18|1922|6|30}}
| death_place      = [Macon, Georgia](/source/Macon%2C_Georgia), United States
| profession       = 
| party            = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| other_party      = 
}}

'''Denmark Groover Jr.''' (June 30, 1922 – April 18, 2001) was a Democratic [American](/source/American_people) politician who served in the state of Georgia's House of Representatives.

==Early life==
Groover was born in [Quitman, Georgia](/source/Quitman%2C_Georgia), on June 30, 1922, to Mary Porter McCall and Denmark Groover Sr. He was educated in the public schools in Quitman. His father was a salesman who sold mules, insurance, and watermelons. During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), he was a [United States Marine Corps](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps) [aviator](/source/naval_aviator) who flew with the so-called [Black Sheep Squadron](/source/VMA-214), which was commanded by Major [Pappy Boyington](/source/Pappy_Boyington).<ref name=gahof>{{cite web|title=Captain/Honorable Denmark Groover Jr.|url=http://www.gaaviationhalloffame.com/Hall-of-Fame.48.0.html?avid=46|access-date=October 9, 2018|website=Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame|archive-date=June 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602003003/http://www.gaaviationhalloffame.com/Hall-of-Fame.48.0.html?avid=46|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Political career==
[[File:20-02-828-groover.jpg|thumb|right|Plaque of Groover at the [Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame](/source/Georgia_Aviation_Hall_of_Fame)]]

Groover graduated from the [University of Georgia](/source/University_of_Georgia) with a degree in law which helped him reach his political roles. He was a member of the [Georgia House of Representatives](/source/Georgia_House_of_Representatives) from 1953–57, 1963–65, 1971–75, and 1983–95.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/denmark-groover-1922-2001|title=Denmark Groover (1922-2001)|encyclopedia=New Georgia Encyclopedia|access-date=8 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Former state lawmaker Denmark Groover dies|url=http://onlineathens.com/stories/041901/new_0419010062.shtml#.VU0m7tpViko |date=April 19, 2001 |newspaper=[Athens Banner-Herald](/source/Athens_Banner-Herald)|via=OnlineAthens |agency=Associated Press |access-date=April 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-22-me-54235-story.html|title=* Denmark Groover; Helped Change Georgia Flag|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 22, 2001 |access-date=8 May 2015}}</ref> He supported the [1956 change to the Georgia state flag](/source/Flag_of_Georgia_(U.S._state)) but in 1993 he acknowledged it was offensive to some and worked for a compromise design.<ref name="Report">{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.ga.gov/sro/Documents/StudyCommRpts/00StateFlag.pdf |title=The State Flag of Georgia: The 1956 Change In Its Historical Context |access-date=December 4, 2014 |last1=Azarian |first1=Alexander |first2=Eden |last2=Fesshazion |date=August 2000 |work=Senate Research Office |location=State of Georgia |publisher=State of Georgia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204200939/http://www.senate.ga.gov/sro/Documents/StudyCommRpts/00StateFlag.pdf |archive-date=December 4, 2014 | pages=29–30 }}</ref> He became infamous when in 1964 during a congressional redistricting bill, he hung from a wall and tried to stop a clock before it signaled the formal end of a session. A photographer captured a photo of the incident, and the photo was printed throughout newspapers which made him an embarrassing icon for Georgia politics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/denmark-groover-1922-2001|title=Denmark Groover (1922-2001)}}</ref>

Groover also authored the 1964 law which moved Georgia elections from plurality to the [two-round system](/source/two-round_system), in response to the end of the [county unit system](/source/county_unit_system) and the feared rise of African-American voting power in the state.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civil Rights in America: Racial Voting RIghts |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/tellingallamericansstories/upload/CivilRights_VotingRights.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409131812/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/tellingallamericansstories/upload/CivilRights_VotingRights.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 9, 2017 |website=National Park Service}}</ref> Later he admitted to federal investigators that this means to dilute Black voting power has been racially motivated and that he has been a [segregationist](/source/Racial_segregation).<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/05/georgia-runoff-history/ Georgia’s runoff system was created to dilute Black voting power]. Washington Post. December 5, 2022.</ref>

He died in 2001 and was buried in [Riverside Cemetery (Macon, Georgia)](/source/Riverside_Cemetery_(Macon%2C_Georgia)).<ref name=riverside>{{cite web | title=Interment: Denmark Groover Jr. | url=http://genealogy.riversidecemetery.com/genealogy/interment?InterID=16162 | website=Riverside Cemetery | access-date=April 28, 2017 | quote=Lot Designation: Daffodil, Row B, Lot 202; includes photos & obituary. }}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> In 2002, Groover was posthumously inducted into the [Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame](/source/Georgia_Aviation_Hall_of_Fame).<ref name=gahof/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groover, Denmark}}
Category:2001 deaths
Category:Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Category:1922 births
Category:People from Quitman, Georgia
Category:United States Marine Corps officers
Category:United States Naval Aviators
Category:United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II
Category:20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly

{{GeorgiaUS-GARepresentative-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Denmark Groover Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_Groover_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_Groover_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.